In the stillness of Sunday morning they awoke selfless, ready to serve others on the holiest of Christian holidays.

Volunteers found themselves drawn to play a role in the hundreds of meals that would go to those that couldn't have an Easter meal otherwise, or those that would have spent the holy day alone. Many of them arrived at Catholic Social Services Family Center in Hazleton to prepare between 7 and 7:30 a.m.

In a partnership between United Way of Greater Hazleton, Catholic Social Services, Hazle Park Meats and the International Association of Fire Fighters Hazleton union, more than 100 volunteers gathered to serve about 600 meals that wouldn't have been possible without donations from many in Greater Hazleton. Dinners were served in house and also delivered to people's homes and places of work.

The total tally of deliveries reached 275 at about 10 a.m., according to Sheryl DiSabella, United Way marketing director. She said orders were still being placed Sunday morning.

The dinners consisting of ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, a vegetable, fruit cup and dessert, were slated to be served from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. in house too but no one arriving early or reasonably late would be turned away, Pat Ward of United Way said.

Even those working Easter Sunday were welcome to a meal delivery, including local fire, police and ambulance.

"All are welcome," Tony Colombo, a firefighter, said.

No criteria was established to enjoy a meal during the community dinner, Ward said. He said it was done this way because many people are simply alone on holidays and look forward to these meals for social interaction.

And, that's the reason volunteers gave up time with their family to serve others, Ward said - gratification for doing something nice for someone else.

Every person that lends a hand to the meal makes it a success and people are grateful for their help, Ward said.

Chris Hunsinger, of Drums, said he, like many volunteers, found serving the meal was a good way to give back to others. Judy Fellin, who waited to bag meals next to him for delivery, said volunteers still have "a lot of day left" after serving the meals to spend time with their families, too.

Rich Saullo of United Way said volunteers began work for the meal this week. He was busy with logistics days prior, plotting out how much of everything was needed for the dinner.

"So basically I'm the grocery getter," he said, in between dishing out dinners Sunday. In total, he said, 250 pounds of ham were picked up Friday by volunteers, along with 600 rolls and other necessities.

Sunday morning, the group gathered to cut desserts, as well as cook and plate the meals.

Saullo said volunteers worked on an assembly line to get the meals out efficiently.

"It's just one big machine," he said.

As the meals were plated into to-go boxes, they were bagged and then placed in boxes for delivery or to a guest waiting at a table.

In the Catholic Social Services kitchen, firefighter Joe Bugda handled a whisk as he mixed homemade mashed potatoes on a stove, while Colombo and Neil Oberto of Catholic Social Services tended to other hot items that were part of the meal.

Ward said the Easter meal began three years ago when Colombo and Bugda searched to find a way to provide Easter meals to those who needed it, so no major holiday would go by in Hazleton without a community meal. Area groups had previously been serving Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

achristman@standardspeaker.com

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.